2993 candidates qualify for local council and WDC elections

Elections Commission (EC) has announced that 2,993 candidates have qualified to contest the upcoming local council and women’s development committee (WDC) elections, after the nomination deadline closed on Sunday evening.

According to the commission, 3,547 people submitted nominations for the two elections, which are scheduled to be held on 4 April.

Of these, 1,936 applied to contest local council seats, while 1,611 submitted nominations for WDC positions.

EC said 1,610 candidates were deemed eligible and had their candidacies accepted for the local council elections. A further 1,383 candidates qualified to contest the WDC elections.

The nomination process for both elections opened on 17 January, with candidates allowed to submit their forms electronically via e-Faas.

The commission said some applications were rejected due to incomplete documentation. Previous EC statements have noted that rejected candidates failed to submit required records, including lifetime criminal and debt records, details of any convictions or outstanding debts, and criminal record clearance issued by the Maldives Correctional Service.